Glossary

Members of the radical political faction that, under the leadership of
Vladimir I. Lenin, staged the Bolshevik Revolution and in 1918 formed the
Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik), precursor of the Communist Party of the
Soviet Union.

Medieval Christian civilization that combined European and Asian cultures
on an ancient Greco-Roman foundation. Centered at Byzantium (known as
Constantinople 330-1930, and later called Istanbul), the Byzantine Empire
occupied western Turkey and the Balkans and, as the center of Orthodox
Christianity, exerted strong influence on many of the Slavic peoples of
Eastern Europe.

Loose arrangement of Western governments formed in 1949 to prevent the
transfer of military-useful (dual-use) technology from the West to the Soviet
Union and Eastern Europe; the group (whose membership was almost identical to
that of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, q.v.) operated on the
basis of informal agreements covering items having military or nuclear
applications.

A multilateral economic alliance headquartered in Moscow; it existed from
1949-91. Members in 1990 included Bulgaria, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, the German
Democratic Republic (East Germany), Hungary, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, the
Soviet Union, and Vietnam. Also referred to as CMEA and CEMA.

official designation of the former republics that remained loosely
federated in economic and security matters of common concern, after the Soviet
Union disbanded as a unified nation in 1991. Members in 1993 were Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

Originating at the meeting that produced the Helsinki Accords
(q.v.) in 1975, a grouping of all European nations (the lone
exception, Albania, joined in 1991) that subsequently sponsored joint sessions
and consultations on political issues vital to European security.

An agreement signed in 1990 by the members of the Warsaw Pact
(q.v.) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (q.v.) to
establish parity in conventional weapons between the two organizations from
the Atlantic to the Urals. Included a strict system of inspections and
information exchange.

official name of the former Czechoslovakia, adopted in December 1990 to
recognize the two ethnic components of that country. (Czechoslovakia was still
used as the short form designation after that date.) In January 1993, divided
into two independent states, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which retained
some economic and security ties.

Philosophical and spiritual movement in Europe in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries, concerned with the relationship of God, nature, reason,
and man, often challenging the tenets of conventional Christianity.

A bank founded under sponsorship of the European Community (q.v.)
in 1990, to provide loans to East European countries (Bulgaria, the Czech and
Slovak Federative Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the Soviet Union, and
Yugoslavia) to establish independent, market-driven economies and democratic
political institutions. Some fifty-eight countries were shareholders in 1992.

A group of primarily economic communities of Western European countries,
including the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom or EAEC) and the
European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). Executive power rested with the
European Commission, which implemented and defended the community treaties in
the interests of the EC as a whole. Members in 1993 were Belgium, Britain,
Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,
Portugal, and Spain. Name changed to European Union (EU), December 1993.

Polish Fascist organization that come into being in Poland in the Spring of 1935 by members of the ONR. Small in numbers, its activities were primarily restricted to institutions of higher education. Extremely nationalistic, it fought sharply left wing organizations, and was critical the government coalition, terming it "zydo-sanacja" It violently anti-Jewish, organizing attacks that demolished Jewish shops, institutions and homes. It demanded the institution of "bench ghettos" for Jewish students, and far reaching limitations of their admission s to institutions of higher education.

The first of several major concessions made by the Polish communist
government in late 1980 to the rising Solidarity movement. The agreement
granted public expression to many groups in Polish society hitherto
restricted, promised new economic concessions, removed discredited communist
officials, and recognized workers' right to establish free trade unions.

Russian term, literally meaning "openness," applied in the Soviet Union
beginning in the mid-1980s to official permission for public discussion of
issues and public access to information. Identified with the tenure of Mikhail
S. Gorbachev as leader of the Soviet Union.

The total value of goods and services produced within a country's borders
and the income received from abroad by residents, minus payments remitted
abroad by nonresidents. Normally computed over one year.

Also known as the House of Austria, one of the principal European
dynasties between the fifteenth and twentieth centuries. Controlled a variety
of separate monarchies, reaching its most powerful stage in the sixteenth
century under Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (q.v.).
After 1867 what remained of the empire was commonly known as Austria-Hungary.

Signed in 1975 by all countries of Europe except Albania (which signed in
1991), plus Canada and the United States, at the initial Conference on
Security and Cooperation in Europe (q.v.). The pact outlined general
principles of international behavior and security and addressed some economic,
environmental, and humanitarian issues.

Enduring from A.D. 800 to 1806, official successor under papal authority
to the Roman Empire. The title king of the Romans, first given to
Charlemagne, was borne by a long succession of German kings. Centered in
Germany, the empire at its peak (thirteenth century to sixteenth century)
extended from the Low Countries to Czechoslovakia and southward into Italy.
Weakened by struggles with Roman Catholic Church and the Reformation, then
scattered by the results of the Thirty Years' War (q.v.), 1648.

Established with the World Bank (q.v) in 1945, a specialized
agency affiliated with the United Nations and responsible for stabilizing
international exchange rates and payments. Its main business was providing
loans to its members when they experienced balance of payments difficulties.

Political philosophy of the leaders of the French revolutionary
government. After reaching power in the revolutionary dictatorship of 1793,
the Jacobins set about safeguarding the values of the revolution and public
virtue by a Reign of Terror against opposing views.

A group of 500 major international commercial banks lending money under
auspices of the International Monetary Fund (q.v.) to Poland for
economic development, under conditions of continued economic reform.

A communist activist, and general in the Polish Peoples Army. In the years 1964-1968, he was the Minister of the Interior and from 1968-1971, the Secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish Workers (Communist) Party. He had a key role in bringing about the events of March 1968: repression of student protest, organization of an antisemitic and pseudonationalistic campagn, antisemitic and anti-intellectual purges in the party, administration, press, army etc.

In countries having centrally planned economies, the official measure of
the value of goods and services produced within the country. Roughly
equivalent to the Western gross national product (q.v.), NMP was
based on constant prices and did not account for depreciation.

An alliance founded in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and their
postwar European allies to oppose Soviet military presence in Europe. Until
the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact (q.v.) in 1991, NATO was the
primary collective defense agreement of the Western powers. Its military and
administrative structure remained intact after the threat of Soviet
expansionism had subsided.

An extreme right-wing, antisemitic , anti-communist, and anti-capitalist political grouping formed in Poland in 1934. It came into open combat with the government using methods approaching terrorism. In July 1934, after three months of operation it was declared to be an illegal organization by the government. It continued its activities illegally, splitting in 1935 into two factions, ONR-A.B.C. and ONR-Falanga.

Founded in 1961 to replace the all-European Organisation for European
Economic Cooperation, assists member governments to form and coordinate
economic and social aid policies in developing countries. In 1992, twenty-four
nations had full membership, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the
United States.

A Muslim empire that controlled southeastern Europe, the Middle East, and
most of North Africa between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, and
lesser territories from 1300 until 1913. Ottoman occupation was a major
influence on all civilizations of southeastern Europe and caused ethnic
animosities that remained after the disintegration of the empire.

Russian word meaning "restructuring," applied in the late 1980s to an
official Soviet program of revitalization of the communist party, economy, and
society, by adjusting economic, social, and political mechanisms. Identified
with the tenure of Mikhail S. Gorbachev as leader of the Soviet Union
(1985-1991).

Period of attempts to institute political and economic reforms in
Czechoslovakia, led by communist party First Secretary Alexander Dubcek, in
1968. The Soviet Union and four Warsaw Pact (q.v.) allies responded
by invading Czechoslovakia and forcing Dubcek out of power.

Sixteenth-century movement against dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, in
favor of grace through faith, the authority of the Scriptures, and the direct
relationship of believers with God. Met with resounding force by the
established church, the Reformation influenced Christian practice to varying
degrees in all European countries, resulting in a schism between the Roman
Catholic church and Protestant reformers.

The name of a political grouping which came into power in Poland in the 1923 coup d'etat. The grouping was based on the close collaborators of Marshal Piłsudzki. It placed proclaimed the priority of reasons of state above parliamentary democracy. In 1928, to broaden its support. it created the Party-less Block of Collaboration with the Government [Bezpartyjny Blok Współpracy z Rządem] which existed until 1935. With the death of Piłsudzki, the grouping fell apart.

In full, Knights of the Teutonic Order, an organization of German
crusaders founded in Palestine in 1190. From their base in Prussia,
consolidated the Eastern Baltic into a powerful feudal state in the fourteenth
century, nominally as agents of the Roman Catholic Church. Expansion aroused
hostility and revolts, which with Polish and Lithuanian support defeated the
knights decisively at Grunwald in 1410. After rapid decline of military power
and influence in the fifteenth century, disbanded in 1525.

Conventional name for a fifty-year struggle (1610-60) of various factions
including Protestant nobles and French kings against the Holy Roman Empire
(q.v.) and its ruling Habsburg Dynasty for control of parts of
Europe, including the Baltic coast. The fiercest period of the war was
1618-48, hence the misnomer Thirty Years' War.

Signed at the Paris Peace Conference, June 1919, dictating peace terms
ending World War I. Harsh terms imposed by the Allies on Germany were cited as
a major factor in the rise of Adolf Hitler and genesis of World War II.

Informal name for Warsaw Treaty Organization, a mutual defense
organization founded in 1955, including the Soviet Union, Albania (which
withdrew in 1961), Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic
(East Germany), Hungary, Poland, and Romania. The Warsaw Pact enabled the
Soviet Union to station troops in the countries to its west to oppose the
forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (q.v.). The pact was
the basis of the invasions of Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968).
Disbanded in July 1991.

Signed in 1948 by Western European states as a regional defense, cultural,
and economic pact, became inactive in 1954 but was revived in 1984 to improve
European military preparedness and activity in the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (q.v.). Subsequently issued statements on European
security and other international issues. Members in 1993 were Belgium,
Britain, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,
Portugal, and Spain.

Informal name for a group of four affiliated international institutions:
the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the
International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance
Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).
The IBRD, established in 1945, had as its primary purpose making loans to
developing countries for specific projects. The IDA, legally separate but
administered by the IBRD, furnished credits to the poorest developing
countries on terms easier than those of the IBRD. The IFC supplemented IBRD
activity through loans to stimulate private enterprise in the less developed
countries. The MIGA was founded in 1988 to insure private foreign investment
in developing countries against noncommercial risks. The four institutions
were owned by the governments of the countries that subscribed their capital.
For a state to participate in the World Bank group, prior membership in the
International Monetary Fund (IMF--q.v.) was required.

Polish national currency (Polish spelling zloty) nominally divided into
100 groszy. Became convertible with Western currencies January 1, 1990. In
March 1990, US$1 equalled 9,824 zloty; in March 1991, the exchange rate was
US$1=9,520 zloty; in March 1993, it was US$1=16,330 zloty.